248 LECTURES ON BIOLOGY 



offers to his body and mind everywhere the same wealth and 

 beauty there is no cause for cautious hesitation and careful 

 selection. His life in the midst of abundance might seem 

 to us an enviable lot, and yet it will be but a poor life spent 

 in laborious work. Being alone, all labour rests on his two 

 shoulders, for there is no one to lend a hand to help him lift the 

 burden. In spite of the generosity of Nature his days will be 

 spent in labouring for the satisfaction of the simplest needs of 

 life. He must cook and bake, he must be his own tailor and 

 shoemaker, he must keep house, tend the field, and harvest the 

 fruit ; almost defenceless he is exposed to attacks by beasts of 

 prey, nor will the night bring him complete rest, for there is no 

 one who will keep watch over him while he is asleep. He will 

 drag along a miserable existence, and in the end his mental 

 faculties, wanting almost every stimulus, will atrophy. 



But if perchance a second colonist should reach by the same 

 island the position of his domicile is predetermined. Where else 

 would he erect his hut but in the neighbourhood of the first ? If 

 their mutual condition be still far from being splendid they are 

 now able to make more of their lives than if each were dependent 

 only upon himself. They can exchange their ideas and take 

 counsel with each other and, above all, they will proceed to a 

 division of labour. The burden which was far too heavy for 

 one is easily carried by two pairs of shoulders. While one 

 cultivates the garden, tends the field, and carries wood and water, 

 the other undertakes the care of the household and prepares the 

 food ; when one rests the other keeps guard, and their united 

 forces grant an increased security against hostile attacks. The 

 more persons immigrate as time goes on, the more favourable 

 the conditions of existence become for all ; for in proportion as 

 the division of labour becomes more complete, more time and 

 leisure is gained by each individual for play, pleasure, and the 

 culture of the mind and body. But not only is the burden of 

 labour decreased : the output of labour is increased. Who must 

 do something in all branches of work will never do something 

 really great in any. The waste of energy resulting from the 

 splitting of his force, from which the first colonist suffered 

 severely, does no longer exist with the citizens of this colony. 

 The agriculturist is only an agriculturist and need not trouble 



